"Play is the language of children and toys are their words."-A Play Therapy Philosophy.

Working with children in therapy requires special skills. Sometimes the best approaches with children are left to the experts who we call Registered Play Therapists. This special certification/registration takes at least 300 extra supervised hours to attain post-licensure. In my interview with Kristin Trick, LPC, RPT, she explains to us how to become a registered play therapist, what kinds of issues play therapists can help with, and why to choose a play therapist over a conventional therapist for your child.

Below is some must-have information about my guest:

Kristin P. Trick, MA, LPC, RPT is a therapist who works in private practice at Sawyer Behavioral Health where she provides therapy services to children, adolescents, and adults. She offers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) along with art and play therapy interventions for clients. She also works at the El Paso Child Guidance Center where she provides Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for children ages 2-7 and their parents. She is active in the El Paso community as she routinely provides trainings to local agencies and organizations on play therapy, trauma informed care, and human development.

Kristin recently published an article in the Association for Play Therapy's quarterly magazine regarding the implementation of play therapy in outpatient psychiatric hospital programs. She received her MA in Professional Counseling and BS in Youth Ministry from Liberty University. Along with her certification as a registered play therapist (RPT), she is certified in TF-CBT and is currently pursuing accreditation in EMDR and PCIT. She enjoys reading, painting, hiking, cooking, and running. She has completed two marathons and is actively training for her third marathon in 2019.

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*Recommendations, discussion, and disclosures are for informational/entertainment purposes only. You should never substitute consultations/information from your own mental health/medical professionals with information from this podcast.*

Rewards, punishment, and consequences can be hard to keep track of while parenting older kids. Not anymore! With this step-by-step audio guide, you can have a functioning "token economy" in as little as 30 minutes! Token economies are like jobs with paychecks for adults except instead of jobs and money, we use chores, points, marbles, and tickets.

This can be a structured and organized way to discipline children and keep track of rewards. Have you ever thought to yourself..."man my kids are spoiled!"...or "I don't want them to think they don't have to work for what they have!"

This is the episode for you! Get your calendars, notebooks, and clear jars ready...we are going to tackle HOW TO CREATE A DISCIPLINE PLAN for older kids!

*Recommendations, discussion, and disclosures are for informational/entertainment purposes only. You should never substitute consultations/information from your own mental health/medical professionals with information from this podcast.*

Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade....these are the two most recent high-profile suicides to impact our society. In this episode, I broach the subject of suicide assessment. As a therapist, this is a part of my day-to-day practice (sadly). Here, I give insight on what a therapist might assess for.

If you or someone you know wants to die by suicide, please reach out to them and give them resources and hope!

Here are some of the more notable resources out there for suicide prevention:

In this conversation we explore special issues related to mental health practice in the borderland. In this episode, you will also hear about common misconceptions about ADHD-medication and psychopharmacology. You can also hear HOW to become a Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practicioner.

If you have been interested in seeing a psychiatrist or a person who can prescribe medication to yourself or a family member, this is the episode is for you!